Ryun VS Scott (best US miler ever)

You could look at this from another perspective... Scott had the advantage to be chasing Coe, Ovett and Cram whereas Ryun was running his world records with almost no competition. Watch the video of his 3:51.1 - he had nobody to push him when it counted and seemed quite composed when he finished. Would Scott have run 3:47 if he had nobody to compete against? I don't think so, he thrived off the competition the other greats were providing...

i know you aren't being critical of ryun. the key word is opportunity. ryun, and runners of his era, did not have the money available to have longer careers that scott, ovett, coe, rono and others of that era had. they could focus solely on running, not running and a job to support themselves.

it was easier to stay in the sport and make money from it in the late 70's than it was as in 1972.

my opinion is that ryun had the most talent of any US miler and not as many opportunities to show it.

Clubber Lang wrote:

Scott=Dirty

Ryun=Clean

End of discussion.

Steve has laughed when told this. He says, "If that were true then I'd fire my pharmacist because I never won anything!"

Making flase accusations does nothing for you.

People keep pointing to 3:47... and that's a fallacy for comparison as far as time is concerned. Ryun had the world record. There was no incentive (other than breaking 3:50) to run faster. He was more focused after 67 on winning an Olympic medal. Talk of breaking 3:50 really didn't start to heat up until the early 70's. Read the articles from the period when Ryun was in his prime and breaking 3:50 wasn't played up at all.

Head to head, I would have to give the advantage to Ryun. He could close over the last 400 as well or nearly as well as any miler today. Either way, they were both great milers in their own right. They both got every ounce out of the God given talent they had.

Download the video of Ryun when he ran 3:51.1 -- the announcers say at the very beginning, "He might be enroute to what we've expected all along, that he can run under 3:50 for the mile," and with one lap to go, "He's got a shot at the 3:50 mile" and after the race, "It looks like he's not run the 3:50 mile, but he may have." It was big.

If we are going to use the 1980 boycott as a "coulda been" moment for Scott, how about mono/altitude/rabbit in '68 and falling in '72 for Ryun?

I think a 3:47 guy will beat a 3:51 guy every time. A 3:50 miler just has those extra afterburners.

Still most of Scott's best times were run in Europe.

Ten Best US milers list

Ryun & Scott (tie)

Spivey

Maree

Harbour

Byers

Sheppard

Falcon

Holman

Liquori

Argon

Todays best

Krummenacker (A Standard)

Robison (A Standard)

Lunn

Stember

Berryhill (questions about bad indoor season. 4:03 in boston very poor.)

Alan Webb

Guber

Lassiter

Sage

Dan Wilson

None of the above have broken 3:53 for the mile. A journey man from the past like John Gregorek (82, 3:51) would beat them all. With the exception of Krummenakcer none of the above have the speed to make the 1984 Olympic 1500meter team.

runnermanyv wrote:

And do not make comments on someones personal life in such a biased and rash opinonated outburst as you have done. It is plain wrong. An athlete's personal life is just that personal and none of your business.

I'd agree, except that Steve Scott made it our business by sharing in his book.

Trackhead, I own a copy of that race and they do talk about it and what it would mean. But it was more in terms of speculation and it wasn't "hyped" before the start of that race (I have the entire broadcast.) Jim never went into that race specifically with the idea of running a world record or taking a shot a 3:50. My reference to sub 3:50 is to the print stories during that same time period. I know this because of the research I did for a college project on Ryun. There wasn't a lot written about whether Jim would be the first under 3:50. I don't know if that's because it was assumed he would do it or whatever.

Lets not get negative. Comparing two milers from different generations is not easy.

Cram and Scott not appreciated.

When Scott was in his prime he seemed to be overshadowed by an entire generation of superb British milers. This probably cost Scott the fame he deserved. However, the miler that beat Scott in the world ranking was also over shadowed by his one of his own countryman. Steve Cram though faster than Sebastian Coe never got the same recognition. Maybe this was because Coe was the first to break 3:48 or maybe it was because Coe got an Olympic medal first. Among sports layman Coe has more name recognition than Ryun, Scott and Cram. Coe is the one distance runner that has name recognition among the general sports press.

When Cram set his world record in the mid 80's it got some attention, but it didn't receive the same hype Ryun or Coe's record got. It didn't help that in the ensuing years Crams record started falling to a whole generation of African runners. EL.G alone has improved on Cram's mark 5 times. Both Scott and Cram are their respective nations mile record holders yet they both live in the shadows of Ryun and Coe.

It's a pretty close call, but I'd have to give it to Ryun because of his two #1 rankings in '66 and '67, his four world records (2 in the mile, 1 in the 1500, 1 in the 880) and his Olympic medal. Scott ran tantalizingly close to the world record, but couldn't quite do it (sort of a summation of his career), was never ranked #1 and admitted to running a stupid race in 1984 Olympic final when he was one of the medal favorites and running at home in California.

Yogi Bear sells his hair wrote:

I think a 3:47 guy will beat a 3:51 guy every time. A 3:50 miler just has those extra afterburners.

Guber

Ryun had a faster 800PR than Scott.

Ryun WRs at 1500m/mile/800m plus Olympic silver at 1500m.

Scott - zero.

Ryun is better.

Maybe 3:50 was not a big deal in the USA. However, it was "bandied" around in this country from 1962 onwards after Snell had run his 3:54.4 and 1:44.3.

Arthur Lydiard really pushed the concept.

Interestingly, It was a kiwi who did it.`

John Walker and Steve Scott had some great duels. Didn't Walker come to meets dress in black.

Yeah, since he raced in New Zealand's black uniform.

BTW, happy birthday to drewr!!

Why would any nation have black uniforms. Doesn't black absorb heat.

Is Scott the best miler ever never to get an Olympic medal.

Legend has it that Scott one summer ran two sub 3:50 miles separated by just a few weeks. Is this true?

Ryun was very consistent and held up well to the amount of training he did. He is the best US miler. End of story.

The 10 fastest US mile times.

Steve Scott - 3:47.69

Steve Scott - 3:48.53

Steve Scott - 3:48.73

Sidney Maree - 3:48.83

Sidney Maree - 3:48.85

Steve Scott - 3:49.21

Steve Scott - 3:49.49

Steve Scott - 3:49.68

Steve Scott - 3:49.72

Sidney Maree - 3:49.75

11th best time, which give Steve Scotts his 8 sub 3:50 miles.

Steve Scott - 3:49.93

If you just take the times by themselves Steve Scott owns the mile in the US. In fact he maybe the most dominating distance runner in American history when taking times only in consideration. In many respects Steve Scott was a genius. To keep up this kind of performance for nearly 15 years is amazing. He is the Cal Ripken of US mile running.